For the past 17 days, I've made it a goal to write one new Hive post every day. Having been fairly inactive for a while prior, I thought it would be a good way to get back into spending more time on our blockchain and also experiencing what our users encounter day-to-day.
My own struggles with writing
Historically speaking, writing has always been a struggle for me. I've just always been someone who prefers giving oral presentations when I have something I want to share with the world. At university, I struggled whenever I had to write a thesis or do a written assignment. At work, I've frequently found myself spending upwards of an hour just to write a simple email, and would much rather just go to a colleague's office or call a project partner to tell them what I had on my mind or explain whatever had to be explained.
And to some extent, that's worked fine. After all, they say that you should just focus on your strengths, right? Well, I also think it's healthy sometimes to get out of your comfort zone and push yourself to learn something new.
The benefits of writing regularly
If you’ve read any articles on habits of successful people, or “self help” suggestions for improving productivity, well-being and concentration, you’ve likely heard of the many benefits of daily writing. Whether it be journaling with no other purpose than to get your thoughts down on paper. Or blogging to share your thoughts with whoever may care to read them.
I too know this very well. Indeed, I have promised myself time and time again to make writing a daily habit. Yet, somehow I find it difficult to do. Thinking of something to write about is easy. And thinking through the content, message, structure and storytelling in my head whilst walking or sitting comfortably in a chair happens easily as well. Still, whenever I sit down to put those thoughts on paper (or rather, in a hackmd or Typora to go out on my Hive blog.) I seem to hit the same wall time and time again.
Looking retrospectively now that I've managed to write consistently for a while, and see that it's becoming easier and easier, I think the main help I've got was a shift in mindset from "inventing" to "documenting". I've always felt that I need to come up with something new, or to describe something in a more analytical way that adds completely new insight. Taking that pressure away, and instead just allowing me to document whatever thoughts happens to cross my mind, has changed a lot. I suppose starting with the low hanging fruit of just describing my skiing sessions was an ideal stepping stone, where I can now separate deep thinking sessions (where I come up with new ideas but only note them as short sentences, bullet points, or drawings), and light work where I simply document what I've then thought through. This two-step process seems to work when I previously would be stuck just looking at a blank page.
So what are your best habits for writing?
I suppose different habits can help with regard to achieving different things. From building, habits to help improve the consistency at which you're able to write more regularly, to habits that make it easier to produce high-quality and original material.
Would love to hear your best suggestions in the comments, or even better, to see you share it in your own post directed to the community here. After all, helping other Hive bloggers write more content that attracts more people to our blockchain benefits each and every one of us directly. Thus I hope we can succeed in creating such a positive culture here that other creators also feel the benefits of joining.
Happy writing! :)
Fredrik